I have a friend visiting Chicago for a week on work. Any suggestions for finding 3 Floyds? I'm not even going to be picky. Whether its Zombie, Gumball, Alpha, etc I don't care
If your friend can't make it to the brewery (about half an hour from downtown), Beermenus.com will help. ZD disappears quickly whenever it pops up, but the other year-rounders and current/recent bombers should be all over the place.
ZD is a tough one to find in bottles unless you get lucky and find a store that received a shipment that day. His best bet would be to find a bar with it on tap. Local Option has a ton of FFF on tap now (including ZD). For bottles, his best option would probably be to drive to the brewery and buy a case. For other FFF stuff, all the Binny's stores should have a good selection. Also recommend him Pipeworks. They make a lot of phenomenal brews.
If your friend has never tried FFF and just wants to sample Alpha King, Pride and Joy, Gumball...just go to Binny's. Any of them in the city will have them by the cases. The FFF Brewpub just released some bombers that are worth driving down for. Difference being - Binny's = 15 minute trip in and out and FFF = 2 or 3 hrs for drive and wait time. I second Pipeworks, with Revolution and Half Acre being a couple of other great Chicago locals. If making the trip to FFF, take another 15 minutes and stop in to 18th Street in Gary. Grapefruit Dead bombers are still available (collab with Mikkeller). Great young brewery that's not crowded and putting out some top notch brews.
As others have said, Binny's will definitely have something when your friend gets there. However, they might as well check out places like Kuma's, Northdown Taproom, and some of the other places that feature ZD regularly on tap, because you'll have better luck getting it on tap (most likely). Also, if your friend can find some Citra Ninja by Pipeworks, have them do so. It's like ZD's older, higher-alcohol sibling, and it's equally fantastic.
